Trust
by McGonagall's Bola
Summary: What might have been the base of the trust and unbreakable loyalty between the Headmaster and his Deputy. This might have been the secret behind everything. AD/MM -REWRITTEN!


"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Minerva said, thankfully nodding, as her companion easily used some magic to open the door for her. Dumbledore could never be caught on not being a courteous and honorable older man. She turned to him and looked into those piercing blue eyes she vividly recalled from her time as a pupil at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Often enough a little twinkle had shone through them as Minerva McGonagall had once again proven herself to be best of her class and more especially in his subject. It fairly said hadn't actually been that long.

"Albus," he offered. "There's no need to call me 'Professor' anymore. You have long earned your degree at this school… and with flying colors if I recall well."

The twenty-one-year-old Minerva McGonagall secretly blushed upon hearing her former Transfiguration teacher say this. She had always liked his classes very much, and maybe she had been better than most of her colleagues, but she pushed past that and rather saw that fact in the light of their lack of competence than her superiority. McGonagall had become quite a powerful young witch, yet part of her would remain shy about that aspect.

"Who else would we be asking?" Dumbledore asked, spreading his arms to emphasize that his question was purely rhetorical. "Professor Dippet easily agreed that as long as he is at St. Mungo's to heal from his Vanishing Sickness, it seemed best that I replaced him as a Headmaster and found someone to replace me as a Transfiguration teacher. He too thought that you were a very good candidate to take up this job."

"Thank you for suggesting me to him," Minerva said, refusing to give up. A smile came over her lips.

"You are very welcome," Dumbledore said, bowing his head toward her. "I hope that you'll enjoy your stay here as a professor. If there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask me."

"Thank you," Minerva whispered once again. "Goodnight then, Pro– Albus."

Albus Dumbledore smiled wide as his former top pupil corrected herself. "Goodnight, Minerva," he whispered, before turning around and making his way down the hallway to the stairs, to what she quietly suspected to be his quarters for the time being. Minerva continued to look after him until he had rounded the corner, then walked into the room and pushed the door in the lock behind her. She rested against it momentarily and closed her eyes.

She couldn't deny the fact that it felt awkward to return here not as a pupil, but teacher, even if only until Armando Dippet had healed from his disease and was well enough to take up his position as a Headmaster again. Until then, Dumbledore would take up that job, as she filled in his. She felt quite nervous knowing that tomorrow, she would have to teach boys and girls barely a couple of years younger than she in fact was. She feared that they would play tricks on her and think they could do anything with her just because of that and her being new as a professor. She feared that the pupils would end up not listening to her and run around the classroom. She recalled very well how often pupils had slipped away in the middle of Professor Binns' class. Of course she had been a pupil as well and had to admit his classes hadn't been the far most exciting of all. She, however, had never once degraded herself to leaving his classroom, even though he never noticed anyone leaving.

She sighed. Minerva just hoped that she could make her classes in Transfiguration less boring than Professor Binns' in his History of Magic. Usually when magic classes were exciting enough, pupils were more cooperative. She knew this from experience. It hadn't been that long since she too had been on the wooden school benches. Not much had changed since she had left the school either.

Minerva's green eyes opened again, and she quietly allowed them to slide over the hard wooden desk in the left corner and comfortable looking leather chair. They were turned so that she could look directly from the window on the right of the desk. The wall on the right of the little office room was lined with overly full and tall book shelves. She sighed and left the support of the door behind, curiously taking a couple of steps forward and inspecting everything carefully, noticing a door on the left, right beside the desk.

Intuitively, she walked toward it and used no magic whatsoever to open it – just slowly pushing down on the handle with her hand. The door easily opened further at her touch, revealing a cozy looking double bed before her. Her chest already waited at the end, a couple of feet away from where she stood. She slowly raised her head to look at the ceiling and the nicely decorated walls and the comfortable furniture put to her disposal for her stay. So this was where Dumbledore was most of his time when not teaching.

As she walked further in the room, the door spontaneously fell into its lock behind her. She looked back in surprise upon hearing it softly fall shut, but easily made up that was most likely normal. She walked further and let her eyes feast on how beautiful and comfortable looking everything around her was. A half open door to the right caught her attention, and the childishness within Minerva called, as she slowly padded towards it. Upon reaching the door, it naturally opened further, as if feeling her presence. The most beautiful bathroom she ever had laid eyes on rose up before her vision. A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, the thought of a long hot bath filling the new professor's mind.

* * *

In the weeks following Minerva grew more at ease with being a professor and keeping everything in order. She had found soon that being strict was the one and only way of handling the pupils she taught. She didn't think she and her fellows back in the days had been anything of that: wild and at times even disrespectful of their superiors.

Being a professor even if only as a substitute until Dippet had healed of course had its advantages, but there were more than Minerva could have guessed at first. The professors who had taught her everything she knew in Magic were now her colleagues. She was now given the chance to see them in another light and had found that many were more kind than they often showed their pupils at times.

One who hadn't changed in kindness towards her was, however, Albus Dumbledore. The day he had suffered under morning moods still had to be invented. The day he would be less kind towards anyone no matter their attitude would possibly never come. Minerva McGonagall secretly envied his intolerable amount of patience, especially now since she had to deal with bouncy little pupils who all seemed to have a type of ADHD. She never could have been like this, she thought while looking through the window from evaluating papers to the auditions for the new Gryffindor Quidditch team. She had always liked watching the games very much, beginning from her childhood at Hogwarts. And of course she herself was a proud Gryffindor. She did care about the future of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. It seemed a lot more interesting to watch than another load of nonsense on the papers before her. Oh yeah… She truly understood teachers so much better now…

Minerva ripped away her gaze from a small red haired boy almost falling off his broom and continued doing what she knew must be done either way. Evaluating nonsense was part of being a professor; it was an aspect you had to take solace with if you wanted the joy of sharing wisdom with others… even though the amount of wisdom she could share with some remained relative.

Before long, she had reached the bottom of the pile of papers before her. Minerva's emerald green eyes trailed to the window once again as she slowly got up and walked over to it, eyeing nightfall while the last older pupils made their way to the castle for dinner and filtered into the halls, which was audible by the number of footsteps sounding in the hallways. She smiled as the thought of a nice cooked dinner made her stomach rumble and made her realize how ravenous she actually was. She couldn't believe she had actually lost track of time while reading and evaluating her pupils' often crappy papers.

Upon turning around and redirecting her attention to the rooms to her disposal until Armando Dippet returned, indicating the end of her fall-in period as a Transfiguration teacher, she easily took her trustworthy old wand from the desk and padded to the door that lead to the first floor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Tower.

On the way down the stairs, Minerva vaguely noticed two older pupils skipping across the hallway hand in hand. Upon reaching the end of the stairs, she could see yet another young couple kissing each other in a gap of the wall. She slowly turned her head away to give them some secrecy and continued walking in the direction of the Great Hall, the sound of chattering growing louder as she neared.

Of course Minerva had seen young couples in her years at Hogwarts as a pupil herself. This wasn't the very first time she saw boys and girls try hide here and there to have a bit of fun. She had never been a part of such thing, though. Looking back at it now when she was no longer a pupil, she wondered if maybe she had missed something back in the days, while putting her mind solely to studying and practicing charms.

Never in her seven years at Hogwarts had any boy approached her in that kind of way. Some had done so to ask to borrow some of her notes, knowing that hers were perfect in comparison to most coming to ask, but never had any boy neared her not purely for academic purposes. She had long thought the reason for that was maybe that she wasn't good-looking enough, like some other girls in her House, whom she often saw with another guy basically every month. Even though she still thought that to be true, she now considered the fact she had wasted, and still did waste most of her free time at the library as a possible contributing factor.

She had never even kissed a man, let alone been with one. She knew that some of the girls with whom she had shared dormitories had lost their virginity at Hogwarts. She had heard of some using the Room of Requirement to fulfill their needs. She mostly hadn't been thinking about that kind of stuff back then.

At the age of twenty-one, while looking at the many young couples around the castle from another point of view than then, Minerva McGonagall's curiosity, however, began to peak. She too wanted to know what it was like to become a woman. Some saw becoming a woman as having one's menses for the very first time. Others saw that as the moment a woman gave herself to a man. A sudden chill along her spine urged Minerva to wrap her arms around herself upon nearing the Great Hall. In her family married life had never really come to be discussed. Minerva had gotten the little of knowledge she had from secretly listening to the older girls while remaining up late reading in the Common Room.

She quietly shook her head to push away the thoughts whirling through her mind upon entering the Great Hall.

* * *

It was close to Christmas when the first Hogsmeade weekend trip announced itself for the third years and above. Minerva McGonagall had always really enjoyed these trips in her days as a pupil. She, however, hadn't really been thinking about going with, until a knock at her door sounded just at nine in the morning.

She had divulged herself in a quite amusing Muggle book until then. Minerva's brow furrowed, and she quietly got from her seat behind her desk and moved in the direction of her door, opening it to reveal none other than Albus Dumbledore. The auburn haired deputy headmaster had a cloak draped over his arm. It looked as if he was about to leave the castle. He was most likely going with to Hogsmeade, she assumed. The twinkle in his unmistakable piercing blue eyes and the smile on his lips both were present. She just had to smile in return.

"Minerva, I was wondering if maybe you would like to join me to Hogsmeade this morning? It has stopped snowing, and if I recall well, you always said you really liked the weekend trips there."

Minerva smiled, taken aback. She intuitively opened her mouth to say something, but no sound escaped her lips. She looked back at the book lying open on her desk. That was no good excuse, and she knew it as well. She had already read that romance novel at least twice. It had been her favorite since her seventeenth. Lately it didn't particularly give her much joy, though. It made her mind wander more than she recalled. It made that feeling in her stomach more intense; the fear that she would live the rest of her life without knowing about love. What was love to begin with?

She quietly shook her head and turned to her former Transfiguration Professor again, only then realizing he had called her name when she didn't immediately give any reply on his offer. "I just thought that it might be a nice diversion on this lovely Saturday morning. Or is there something else you had wanted to do today?"

"Uhm… No. No," Minerva answered. "There isn't."

"Lovely," Dumbledore beamed. "Then I suggest you go get your cloak. It might have stopped snowing, but I'm sure you can use it still."

Indeed, the cloak had been welcome. So was the thought of a Butterbeer at the Hogs Head.

Minerva rapidly rubbed both hands up and down her arms, trying to warm herself while watching Albus walking over to her with two Butterbeers in hand. He neatly placed a bottle before her, then sat himself opposite. "Thank you," she whispered, immediately reaching for the bottle and putting it against her mouth before tipping back her head. She took a quite good, long gulp before straightening her head again and putting her bottle down. Her emerald green eyes lowered to the table, trailing the lines that had gotten into the wood with time.

The smile on Dumbledore's lips disappeared and a frown of worry creased on his forehead. He slightly tipped his head to the side and looked over at the twenty-one-year-old Animagus. "Minerva?" He questioned, softly. He patiently waited to say more until she had released the breath she had maybe been holding for months, then looked up at him with sadness glistening in her eyes. It was very easy to be oneself with him. Albus didn't go by prejudices. If someone tried to understand and saw the best in people, it was Albus Dumbledore. He wasn't easy to be fooled either. No matter how much you tried to hide what you really felt, those piercing blue eyes saw right through you. "You have been exceptionally quiet lately, if I may say," he whispered, honestly concerned for her wellbeing. She had never been the girl to be caught being loud, but she just didn't seem like herself anymore… seemed even more quiet than usual.

His hand quietly reached to lay upon hers. He lightly squeezed it, trying to show her he had only good intentions. Minerva in response lay her other hand over his again. His hand was significantly warmer than hers. "Is something not alright?" He questioned, crystal blue connecting with emerald green.

"I'm fine," she whispered. Even though she knew Dumbledore couldn't be fooled, it was stronger than herself. She couldn't just tell him that she was far from alright, and that every time she thought about it more, she was less fine.

"Minerva," he whispered. "We both know that's not true. I do not wish to force you into telling me what's wrong, but I would really like your honesty on the matter."

"Fine," Minerva whispered. The word sounded quite bitter for her behavior… especially before Albus Dumbledore. She lowered her eyes once again and this time trailed the scars in the wood not only with her eyes, but with the tip of her finger like a child as well. Minerva's finger stilled, and both of her hands clutched around the bottle of Butterbeer. Her head dropped further, and she bit down on her lower lip. She could feel the tears sting behind her eyelids while allowing them to fall shut. She just hoped the barrier was enough to stop herself from crying right then and there. One tear slid from under her eyelashes and rolled down her cheek rapidly, before she opened her eyes again. The layer of tears that had formed on them made her vision slightly blurry. She took a couple of deep breaths to compose herself. "Fine," she repeated. "I feel like crap."

With that she suddenly got up and pushed the chair underneath the table again, before leaving Dumbledore and her half full bottle of Butterbeer behind. Albus was sure he could hear a sob escape the witch's lips, before looking after her as she tried wriggle her way through the crowd and left the Hogs Head. Dumbledore sighed and lowered his heavy head as well in defeat.

* * *

Her cloak lay long forgotten over the chair at her desk, as she herself sat in the window, looking over on the domain of Hogwarts for so far as her sight reached, covered cozily in a tight, white layer. A hand reached up to furiously dab at the tears falling from her eyes. Her head immediately shot in the direction of the door as she of course recognized the familiarity of the knocking that could only come from Albus Dumbledore himself.

Minerva already felt bad enough for her behavior at the Hogs Head earlier. She hadn't particularly shown much respect to him, even though she looked up to him very much. She couldn't leave him waiting at the door when he so honestly showed his concern. She should at least apologize to him. That was the least she could do. "I- I'm coming…" she whispered as loud as her voice would go. She just hoped he could hear it. She tightly clenched her fist around the red and golden colored checkered handkerchief in her hand, and reached up with it again, trailing an edge of the fabric under her eyes to try get rid of the smeared black mascara. In her hurry Minerva just forgot about using the wand which she had been twirling around into her other hand until then.

Minerva swiftly slid from the window and let her feet touch the stone underneath her again, before slowly walking over. She quickly took another deep breath and opened the door for him. Upon looking at her, Albus' forehead frowned concernedly once more. Minerva immediately knew her trick with the handkerchief or deep breaths hadn't worked.

The soft grayish color under the woman's emerald green eyes and the red flushed cheeks were a dead give-away… and of course her behavior of earlier. "W-Would you like to come in?" Minerva whispered, looking up at him questioningly and stepping aside to let him through as he didn't immediately answer or move.

"If you would like me to," Dumbledore replied, shooting a question straight back at her before doing anything more. The last he wanted to do was overstep her boundaries.

"Certainly," Minerva whispered, sniffling. She nodded to emphasize that one word and watched as he stepped inside in what was in fact his very own office. He quietly shut the door behind him, she heard. She had already turned away from him again, uneasily crossing her arms over her chest. She just couldn't bear to look at him right then. "I- I'm sorry, Albus," she whispered, as the sounds of steps right behind her indicated moving from his side.

Suddenly, his hand was on her back, and he was beside her. Albus was significantly taller than she, and thus she had to look up to meet his eyes. He momentarily met hers, before letting the crystal blue glow wander over her face, searching it for an indication of what possibly could be going on. She then lowered her head again, a strand falling from the otherwise near perfect bun of darker blond hair.

Dumbledore hesitantly reached to tuck it behind her ear, before raising her chin to let her tearful green eyes meet his concerned blue ones. "Please tell me what is troubling you so, Minerva."

She just shook her head, then let it drop against his chest, and cried. She cried without caring much. If anyone wasn't going to judge her, that someone would be Albus. She could trust him, even though he was a man and thus part of the reason why she was feeling like this, even if only indirectly. She could confide in him, and so that was right what she would do after regaining herself.

She was surprisingly relieved to feel his arms around her in a hug, and another long held breath escaped her lips. It had been quite a long time since she had actually felt so secure. Last time she recalled was when she had been just a little girl, huddled up on her father's lap as he read to her from a magical fairytale book. That had been a while ago already… Minerva intuitively hid her face in his torso, just letting both of her hands rest on his sides as he slowly began drawing circles on the small of her back with one of his.

"I feel like I have missed so much," she whispered, the sound of her unsteady voice maybe thankfully muffled by the fabric of his robes. One of her hands slid up to the anterior of his robes as she pulled back a few inches. Minerva tightly held onto it, before pushing her head back against his chest, wanting to feel the security she needed. "I was with my head in the books while everyone else was with their heads in the clouds and fell in love."

"It is never too late to fall in love," Dumbledore whispered.

Something in Minerva changed at that, heart jumping as indeed he hadn't judged her, but just believed her on her word and comforted her the way she needed. The air around them changed. Something electric could be felt around them; something suddenly sweeter smelling than before. Minerva wondered if he could feel that as well. Resolutely, she pulled back from his chest, her eyes dry this time. "I just would like to know how it feels like," she whispered, searching his eyes as no reaction came. "I don't necessarily have to fall in love," she whispered, lowering her head again and stepping from his embrace as he just remained in silence. "I just would like to know how it feels like…"

* * *

_Minerva shivered slightly as she looked at the man opposite her in bed, facing her. She held onto the sheet tighter, feeling Dumbledore's piercing eyes upon her. "Minerva. We don't have to do this," he whispered. He would have reached to stroke her cheek with his hand, but thought she might need the space right now. She had unconsciously edged to the end of the bed already. He could feel her insecurities._

_He quietly watched her take another deep breath, momentarily shutting her eyes before looking at him again with more decisiveness than he had possibly ever seen in her eyes before. "I trust you," she whispered, and that was the only thing she said before slowly inching closer to him again. Her hand hesitantly reached for his cheek, then right before her fingertips would have reached his skin, she suddenly retracted wondering if it was acceptable. She slowly inched her fingertips toward him again, convincing herself. She was still insecure, though. Albus tenderly moved his cheek into her hand to show her she didn't need be, then carefully leaned in to let his lips touch hers, before pulling back to look into her eyes._

_She nodded almost unnoticeably. Dumbledore easily raised himself off the bed, letting his lips touch hers once again and very slowly pushing backward. As their lips rubbed over one another, Minerva slowly rolled on her back in bed, as Albus hovered over her. He slowly allowed one leg to slide between hers. She hesitantly obeyed and opened her legs just wide enough for his knee to fit in between. He could feel her shiver underneath him, and her breathing came fast… but not from sexual anticipation. _

_Their eyes met once again, and as the crystal blue glow of his eyes wandered over her, she relaxed. Albus would be careful. She trusted him. And so she happily welcomed his mouth on hers again, hesitating only for a second as his tongue slid over her reddish lower lip, asking permission. She slowly opened her mouth, letting him guide her. _

_Minerva could feel his fingertips sliding from her hip upward over her side to the side of her breast. He cupped it tenderly, then pulled back from her lips and looked into her eyes. He only found curiosity lingering within them, and thus he slowly allowed his lips to wrap around one nipple, sucking once, before letting go of it again._

_Minerva bit down on her lip as the sensation of that coursed through her body. She quietly raised her head to look at Albus as he nuzzled in between her breasts, then moved further down leaving a trail of feather light kisses that set her skin on fire. Upon reaching the curly darker hairs leading between her legs, she could feel her breath hitch. _

_Albus' fingers trailed from her breast over the same path as his lips had earlier, however, not ceasing at the curly darker hairs like before, but slowly passing through them further down. At the unfamiliarity of the feeling, Minerva intuitively opened her legs wider. The touch was quite unfamiliar, but nice. She almost inaudibly moaned in the dimness of the bedroom as Albus let one finger slide back upward through her folds, circling a very sensitive spot she didn't know she even had, before letting it trail down again._

_She gasped as the top of his finger slid into her; it was more from surprise than pain. Albus slowly let his finger circle the thick fleshy rim by many called the maidenhood. It technically didn't need be broken, as was sometimes said. It would just have to stretch enough for the passage of anything more than a finger, like a man's hardness._

_She gasped once again, as Albus slowly added another finger of his. She didn't think she could take that and began slightly panicking at the thought of this only being the beginning. If she already couldn't take this… She slowly closed her eyes, trying to take deep breaths and relax, but she couldn't. The touch of his lips could be felt on hers, and as Minerva slowly let him guide their lips in sync again, she calmed down more effectively. She trusted him. He wouldn't hurt her._

_And then his thumb found that bundle of nerves again, where her inner folds came together. She intuitively arched her back and bucked her hips toward him as he stroked over it tantalizingly slow. Albus' lips left hers for a second, and she took that second to look up into his crystal blue eyes, silently asking where this was coming from. She began panting as his thumb began drawing circles, setting her womanhood on fire. Her eyelids suddenly felt heavy, and she could no longer keep them open as Albus' ministrations gained pace, and he continued circling the bud faster._

_Slowly, he then allowed his fingers to slide further inside, continuing to pay attention to her clit and trying his best to make her enjoy this. She was truly beautiful lying there into the white of the sheets on the bed, her hair sprawled over the pillow supporting her head. Her eyelids slightly fluttered even though remaining shut. Her lips were slightly parted. Her forehead was somewhat creased at the unfamiliarity of the feelings he aroused within her._

_He began stroking her clit again, but faster than before. He carefully continued to look at her while doing this, wanting to know right away if something changed in her behavior, so that he could pick up on it. He continued moving his fingers further into her, never once letting his thumb leave her bud. He really wanted her to concentrate more on the pleasure, and not on the pain that would most likely be involved at some point no matter how careful he actually might be later on._

_Slowly, Albus began thrusting his fingers backward and forth inside her, louder panting indicating she was getting nearer to the point of no return. His fingers began going faster, along with his thumb. He continued watching her, letting his fingers pleasure her._

_Minerva could feel the heat spreading over her sex and radiating through the rest of her being. She could vaguely feel something build in her lower abdomen; something unfamiliar which she had never felt before. She wondered if it could be normal. She wanted to ask, but his ministrations left her breathless. Her panting become louder as the feeling in her lower abdomen only increased in strength. She could feel herself climbing to… something, and she so fiercely wanted to reach it. "A-Albus…" it escaped from between her lips, before she continued panting loud. As she felt near reaching the top of the hill, she moaned in between her panting as well._

_Albus' ministrations continued, and she momentarily stilled, before letting herself fall. He softly continued to massage her clit, his fingers, however, having become motionless inside her, as she happily rode the wave of pleasure… the wave of her very first orgasm. Her body began trashing in different directions, and stars dazzled behind her eyelids as she continued to fall, not knowing when she would reach earth again. _

_He softly continued to circle her clit upon watching her. Minerva's sex contracted around his fingers, and he knew this orgasm must have been quite powerful. The contracting slowly lost intensity, and so did the trashing of her body and her panting. He smiled as her eyes fluttered open looking at him, the last waves of pleasure leaving her. She looked at him questioningly, most likely wondering about what had just happened. He smiled back faintly. A thin sheen of sweat lingered upon her skin, subtly pooling together in her navel. _

_She watched as Albus slowly slid his other leg between both of hers, and she unconsciously swallowed. "We don't have to do this," he repeated, reading the insecurities in her eyes… the fright._

_She just nodded her head, as if wanting to say 'We do'. "I trust you," she whispered, then took another deep breath and allowed her eyes to fall shut._

_Albus Dumbledore had long learned that those deep breaths were something Minerva occasionally did to keep her feelings of fright in no matter what appearance in check. That appearance might have been nervousness, or just being afraid. He settled on a combination of both this time. "Please tell me if it gets too much," he whispered, leading his cock between her folds. She winced, eyelids squeezing together as he slowly pushed himself into her. The resistance of her maidenhood against his size came almost immediately, but he knew that the worst would be over after that. He pushed further into Minerva until she had swallowed the whole of his tip._

_He looked at her to see her eyes had opened, searching for him in the dimness of the bedroom. "I trust you," she repeated. Albus' arms slid underneath her shoulders, subtly raising her chest. Slowly, Minerva's arms came to live and reached for his shoulders, loosely resting on them. She almost unnoticeably nodded at him to go on, even though this being her first time knowing he wasn't fully inside her yet. Minerva's eyes captured his, and she was quite thankful that Albus allowed her to look into his eyes as he slowly made his way further inside in one swift stroke, aware that fidgeting would be worse. Minerva's breathing caught in her throat, nails digging into his shoulders, as he broke through the resistance of her maidenhood, and another kind of warmth than before grew between her legs as the now torn flesh pulsed against him._

_She was quite thankful he didn't begin moving about right away, but gave her the time to grow accustomed to this new feeling first. Her arms slid further around his shoulders as she intuitively pulled him close. He just allowed her to do so. She slowly let her head rest against his shoulder, blinking away the tears representing a mixture of pain and happiness altogether. She had actually become a woman now._

_Albus could feel the wetness of her tears against his shoulders. "I'm sorry," he whispered, tenderly kissing her shoulder and stroking the back with a hand._

* * *

Minerva's emerald green eyes slid over the room. Felix wasn't sitting in his usual spot, but that was the only immediate difference she noticed. Otherwise, the room still looked as if it waited for Albus Dumbledore's return. He wasn't going to return anymore now, though. Professor McGonagall had seen his lifeless, spread-eagled and broken body at the foot of the Astronomy Tower, any aid coming too late. The man she had trusted with her life and had loved dearly was no more.

She suddenly looked up at the portraits of old Headmasters and noticed one had been added. Dumbledore lay vast asleep against the frame, his fingers weaved together over his abdomen, the famous half-moon spectacles balancing on his as infamous crooked nose. Another tear slid down her cheek, as she looked at him being so peaceful in the portrait, whereas a man he had trusted, Severus Snape, had just killed him, after what Potter had told her.

"Oh Albus," she whispered, lethargically walking further into the bedroom to the bed he had slept in and had been made by the House Elves while he had sat at breakfast beside her that morning. Minerva's eyes momentarily shut as she realized just how tired she actually was after everything that had happened tonight, and she released a deep, powerless breath thinking about the fact he would never sit beside her at breakfast again. He would never go to the Hogs Head to have a Butterbeer with her anymore. The twinkle in his piercing blue eyes would never shine anymore, and the realization of that hurt so very much.

Minerva sat down on the bed, one hand resting in her lap, as another stroked over the cover of his bed. She had trusted Albus with her life… with everything. She lay down on the bed and let her tears fall. Her usual strict self was defeated right now. She didn't think she would ever be the same again without him by her side. There was a void inside her now, which was hard to locate, but was certainly present. She just couldn't say where it hurt most, since basically everything did.

Her hand clutched around the edge of his pillow, and she pulled it into her arms, holding onto it as if that would keep her sane. She tearfully buried her face into it and sobbed. He had always been there to guide her… but he wouldn't anymore.

Even though Albus had never actually told her, she had long known that she had no chance with him. Minerva had never hoped for more than what had happened at her twenty-first. She had known that that was all it would be.

Yet it hadn't made it less real for her in any way. He had made a woman of her, and therefore he had had, and always would have, a very particular spot inside her heart. She never regretted having shared it with the man who had shown to be a loyal and very good friend then already and had become her best friend when she had later returned to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry to teach Transfiguration when he had become Headmaster permanently, succeeding Armando Dippet. She never regretted having shared it with the man who would end up meaning so much to her; the man who could get her in a flood of tears that wouldn't stop for hours.

Mere hours after Snape's fellow Death Eaters had invaded the Castle of Hogwarts; after Snape had killed the one and only who had really trusted him while everyone else hadn't and had just trusted on Dumbledore's better judging; and after he and his fellow Death Eaters had fled the Castle leaving everyone behind in this mess caused by them only, Minerva Gaia McGonagall fell into a disturbed nightmare filled sleep holding onto Albus' pillow. The formalities could wait until sunrise.


End file.
